sarah's sustainable life

it’s school time again! for me and many other moms, it is time to resurrect the art of packing the old lunch box. it can be such a hassle to perform this task day after day, but we moms know how important it is to send our children with healthy, filling, and (for some of us) vegetarian lunches. i have written about lunch packing before, but mainly in the context of packing lunches for my husband to take to work. today, i will give you a few tips on packing a worry-free lunch your kids will love to eat!

1) keep a chart of lunch options handy. this takes a little time, but it is SO worth it!! using help from websites and cookbooks (like the vegan lunchbox and the sneaky chef), i put together complete meal outlines in calendar form. this way, i can plan ahead and have the supplies on hand and make sure there is good variety in josiah’s lunchtime diet. (jennifer mccann recommends using the school’s lunch calendar as a guide so that your child can have similar lunches and not feel left out.)
2) have your child help. whenever possible, allow your child to help in the planning and preparation of the food. kids are more likely to want to eat the food you pack when they feel they’ve had a voice and a hand in it.
3) know when to say when. there will be days you just don’t have time to make everything from scratch; that doesn’t mean you need to give in and send your child with processed meat on white bread and potato chips! there are SO many brands of wonderful, ready to eat lunch box fillers that are high on nutrition and easy on the environment. revolution foods, ella’s kitchen, tasty brand, and go raw are all great choices. remember, though, you will pay for the convenience in money, so try to go homemade as often as possible.

to be continued later this week…

i’ve tried a lot of health food in my day (and been very disappointed by most). to save you the trouble and money of experimenting, today i’m reviewing some of my new favorites for you to try. they have all been taste tested and approved!

so good miso mayo – miso is a paste made of fermented soybeans. doesn’t sound very tasty, eh? well think again! this traditional asian sauce adds a ton of lovely flavor and is so healthy that it was used to treat radiation sickness in japan after WWII. miso mayo puts this expensive and unusual condiment in an easy to use and family friendly format. as the name suggests, the company intends for this to be an alternative to mayonnaise, so start out by trying it on sandwiches and fish. my son will eat anything with miso mayo on it! look for it in future free recipe friday recipes.

the old city café veggie burger & bean burrito – talk about convenient health food! with a nice dollop of guacamole, this may be my favorite lunch to pack for work. vegan, kosher, and about half the price of similar wraps in the freezer section, this is a product worth trying. if veg burger doesn’t appeal to you, try one of the other 5 or 6 varieties they offer. i think you’ll love it, too.

go raw spicy flax snacks – i’ve written about the go raw brand in a previous post on raw foods. the spicy flax snacks are a wonderful crunchy, slightly spicy nosh. a little on the expensive side, but so worth it!

so delicious coconut milk yogurt – this is a very recent find for me. i don’t know what else to say folks, it’s yogurt made from coconut milk and it’s AMAZINGLY delicious. try turtle mountain’s other coconut milk products like ice cream, ice dream bars, even sugar free products!